CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[boingo]

Hi Im a Noob

Please be gentle !

Ive picked up a couple of working LCD Projectors that once were the greatest...(circa 2000)

Sony VPLX-2000 (2400lumen quad lamp 3LCD) & a Sanyo PLC9000 3LCD

These are big venue projectors..however I got them so cheap that I couldnt let them go.
The pictures projected from these 2 are nothing to me but outstandingly Bright and vibrant really good ..!
I can project to large size yet the picture is still very good/bright.

The only problems are size/weight (sony =73 lbs) and the reason Im posting ..how to get the best picture from these..?

DETAILS ON THE PROJECTORS:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sanyo-PLC-9000N.htm

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sony-VPL-X2000U.htm
http://www.projektoren-datenbank.com/pdf/sonyvplx2000u_m.pdf (users manual)

Im a bit stumped as most of the Video inputs on these are the older BNC type...and there are so many !
Which ones can I use ?

How can I connect my DVD/Satellite/DTV for the best picture...most of the equipment has component/S-video/Composite connections...all currently are standard definition as opposed to 1080p or 720p.

In the future I will be getting 720p/1080p DTV reciever and DVD Player etc.. will these projectors be able to handle the higher 'res' Ok ? or do I need a down scaler ??

So in nutshell how does one get the best picture, what connectors do I need, do I need a scaler ? How far can I go with connecting Higer res 720p only perhaps ?

TIA

A lot of questions apologies !

[taxman]

The projectors you have picked up are quite old digital projectors. You can't expect to get as good a picture out of them as you get from a modern PJ, no matter what you do to them. But you will get a big & bright pic for sure.

I suggest you hook up your computer with one of them, and have fun watching movies, gaming etc. Those PJs are great for gaming, because you got them cheap. Also you can use your PC as a DVD player. You need a suitable cable though. There are VGA -> 5x BNC breakout cables available. You might have to check your favourite large on-line retailers as most megamarts won't have them. If the PJs have VGA input then just use it. I would save my money and not get a scaler at this point. Your computer handles that job well enough for now.

BTW, when you'll be watching some dark movies, and contrast & brightness controls on those babies won't do any good, THEN check this out:
http://www.curtpalme.com/CRTPrimer.shtm

[boingo]

Yes of course they wont project as good as most of the latest and greatest..but compared to many Ive seen these still are quite good...(I only paid 30 dollars for each)

After reading Curt's Primer...THANK YOU CURT ! I dont think I need to ask any more questions...well cept


With the Sony Projector I have...can I interchange the cards with the cards in the Sony CRT Projectors...or in short are they interchangeable..?....would this include the remotes etc...


Thanks

[perisoft]

If you play around a bit, you can get the colors VASTLY better than stock, even on a really awful digital PJ. It won't be great, but if you put some time in, you'll be shocked at how much better things can look with a little tweaking on whitepoint and gamma.

If you have a digital camera that has whitepoint settings, try setting it to 6500k (or, failing that, 'outside cloudy' or similar), putting up a full white screen, and taking a picture. Adjust your brightness on each channel until you get something white-looking on the camera screen (ideally you should look at a histogram, but if your camera hasn't got one it's a royal pain since you need to put the image in photoshop...). That should get your whites somewhere around 6500k, which is where you want to be.

If the PJ can't select one of R/G/B, then make red/green/blue versions of a gray ramp in photoshop or similar (left-to-right gradient, and then posterize to 10 levels). Put each one up, and set gamma for each channel so you can just see one of the dimmest bars.

Now you'll probably have something looking a bit better!

[boingo]

Thx for your post perisoft...I will have a play for sure ..!

Just wondering if I should pose the Question about my Sony VPLX-2000 and "are it's cards interchangeable with Sony's CRT Projectors"..in the CRT Projector section of this forum ...

Cheers

[hailtoby]

I had a few Sanyo PLC9000s. They were great for being bright. Nothing like watching Star Wars outside on your garage door at about 14' wide. I used mine for watching movies outdoors at parties and bbqs.

What kind of lens do you have on yours? I found out with some research that you can sell some types of the Sanyo lenses on ebay for quite a bit of money. Im not sure who uses them or for what, but I had 3 Short throw lenses, I believe they were LNS-W01Z. I sold them for average $500 on the bay and then just threw the projectors away. They were big and heavy and what seemed to me, decent quality optics. I know they werent stock.

Not sure if you agree, but I would rather have $500 than a 10 year old XGA digital pj. Or, if you still want the pj, sell the lens and pick up on eof the stock lenses, if thats not whats already installed.